Why Clarity Between Communications and Public Affairs Is Essential. The Internal Side of Public Affairs (49)

Alan Hardacre, PhD

Co-Founder Advocacy Academy, Advocacy Strategy

The functions Communications and Public Affairs rarely ever mean the same thing to two people or two organisations. And even worse their exact roles (individually and side by side) are often left undefined. This dual ambiguity leads to duplicated efforts, missed opportunities, or confusion in moments when unity and precision are most needed. It also leads to internal tension (and politics). The reality is that these functions are deeply interconnected and should be driving (together) to achieve the same business outcomes. As Maria Linkova wrote in her Chapter on Building a Successful Holistic EU Campaign (to be published soon!) to deliver influence and policy success today you need many different touchpoints i.e. Communications and Public Affairs need to work together. 

Why This Matters

Whilst Communications perhaps typically focuses on narrative building, media engagement, internal storytelling, and brand visibility Public Affairs zeroes in more on stakeholder outreach, policy influence, regulatory navigation, and strategic relationship management. That is typical but depending on your organisation’s structure, history, or geography, these lines can blur very quickly.

Rather than chasing rigid definitions, the key lies in mutual clarity—tailoring an understanding that works for your organisation, culture, and context. Clarity unlocks collaboration.

Visualizing Clarity: The Venn Diagram Approach

One effective way to map out roles is using the Venn Diagram model. Think of the core area as shared responsibilities—where both teams work hand-in-hand. Each outer circle represents adjacent tasks, where collaboration is still critical, but one team takes a clear lead.

For example:

• At the core: Crisis management and Position Papers, often require unified input from both Communications and Public Affairs.

In the adjacent spaces: Media relations might be led by Communications, with Public Affairs supporting the narrative alignment. Conversely, stakeholder outreach might sit with Public Affairs, while Communications manages public transparency and internal messaging.

The ‘How’ Matters Just as Much as the ‘What’

The clear task mapping is just the start (a good one). Success then depends on how the teams work together. This includes:

• Joint planning cycles: Aligning on key campaigns, reputational risks, or stakeholder moments.

• Workflow Clarity: Who drafts / who inputs / who has the sign-off. Think a RASCI model

• Shared intelligence: Regular horizon scanning and insight sharing to avoid information silos.

• Crisis protocols: Clear ownership and coordination paths for rapid, aligned responses.

• Unified stakeholder maps: Understanding who speaks to whom, and how.

Model Extension

The beauty of this approach is that you rarely need to stop here. Whilst Communications and Public Affairs can have this issue – so too can this emerge with Legal, Sustainability, Regulatory, Compliance, ESG…and other adjacent functions. Extending this Venn approach can build out collaboration and clarity across all internal functions and stakeholders operating with external developments.

Final Thought

There’s no one-size-fits-all model for defining Communications and Public Affairs. But in today’s complex external landscape and with increasing internal pressure to deliver, ambiguity is costly (for both).  The Venn approach is more than a visual—it’s a framework for shared understanding, better collaboration, and ultimately, greater chances of external success and impact.

Your organisation’s success depends not just on what these functions do—but on how clearly they do it, together.